Great Bend, ND

Great Bend was founded in 1888 on the Wild Rice River, where George Worner’s homestead and rural post office gave the settlement its first fixed name, Berlin. At the city edge, the river reach from County Road 81 was included in state snagging and clearing work, tying the town to the wider drainage system. Richland County farm roads lead through the surrounding Red River Valley, while the small city grid stays close to the riverbank. Great Bend’s present map is still defined by water, cultivated land, and the roads that connect a river settlement to the county’s wider agricultural system.